From pleading to wrestle to being crowned U20 world champion: Kajal's meteoric rise

Kajal’s journey into wrestling was inspired by her uncle, Krishan, an international-level wrestler.

Motivated by his achievements, Kajal was drawn to the sport from a young age, and she would often plead to accompany him to training sessions.

As a 10-year-old, Kajal insisted on joining the sport.

"I was around 9 or 10 years old. Mere chacha jate the toh mein rone lagti thi, mein ghar par kyun rahun. Mujhe karni hai practice. (I used to start crying every time my uncle got ready for training. I just wanted to go with him)," Kajal recalled in an interview with The Bridge after her return as the U20 World Champion.

The victory in Bulgaria marked Kajal’s second world championships medal in a month, following her silver at the U17 championships earlier this month. She had bagged the U17 gold medal last year in 69kg.

Turnaround moment

Kajal shared that her event, the women’s 72kg category, was scheduled on the final day, giving her ample time to prepare mentally.

"Everyone was done with their events, some had won medals, and some did not. I was thinking about what will happen when my event comes. Will I get a gold or not? I was thinking how I can get a medal," she said.

The 17-year-old from Sonepat beat Emili Mihaylova of Bulgaria and Kaiyrkul Sharshebaeva of Kyrgyzstan. In the semifinal, she recovered from 0-4 to beat U20 defending champion Jasmine Robinson of America 13-6.

In the final, Kajal managed an early 4-0 lead against China’s Yuqi to claim the title 8-6. But midway through the final, the Indian found herself staring at a possible pinfall when she was caught in her own attack.

"Final mein harte harte bachi (I had a narrow escape in the final). The first round score was 4-2, and then I collected back-to-back two-point moves to take an 8-2 lead," she said.

"But during one of my attacks, I got caught on the wrong side and was about to be pinned. I thought ‘bas yahan se nikal jaun phir dekh lungi’ (Let me get out of this somehow)," Kajal, who trains at the Kuldeep Malik Sports Academy in Sonepat added.

Performing under pressure

India has witnessed a surge in medals at the world stage, particularly from junior women wrestlers.

Antim Panghal’s gold at the U20 World Championship in 2022 was the first world medal by a female wrestler in 34 years in the age group. In the next three years, India produced as many as six gold medallists.

However, the success often doesn’t translate at the senior level.

Kajal explained, "Junior mein medal jeeta hai, ab senior mein bhi jeetna hai (When we win medals at the junior level, there is pressure to maintain our performance at the senior level). The ones who don’t win at the junior level face the pressure of how well they perform at the senior level," she said.

"International wrestlers perform without pressure. Unka medal nahi ata toh bhi khush rehte hai (They win or lose, they are happy in all situations). They compete with a free mind. We always have pressure to perform," she added.

Now that the celebrations have settled, Kajal has put her focus on the upcoming senior tournaments, where she aims to continue her winning momentum.

"I am happy I won gold. But this tournament is done now. I am already thinking ahead. My next target is the Asian Games next year and then the 2028 Olympics," she concluded.